Z.H.P Unlosing Ranger Vs Darkdeath Evilman

I am a huge NIS fan. They bring games over that normally wouldn't have a chance to get localized and released for the english market.

First off let me tell you that before you make a decision on this game to research it a bit. I saw quite a few review sites calling this an SRPG *Think Disgaea* While it is similar it is a lot faster paced but the humor is all there.

I have also seen them talking about how it is nothing but a huge grind fest. Yes you do have to grind but the levels are pretty quick and to do a dungeon runthrough *depending on the dungeon* can take as few as 10 minutes if you try to check out every item and enemy.

The only thing that really bugged me before purchasing was I had read that this game can tell if you shut it off mid dungeon and will count it as a death *if you die you go back to the hub world level and loose all your items*. As a portable game that just didn't sound amazing. I'm not going to ruin the story for you but after every dungeon you beat you return to level one but you keep all stat increases from leveling up so lets say you started with 25 SPD and ended with 30. You go back to level one but keep 30 as your stat so your level one is higher than the last level one. And you run through items so quick in this game that losing them isn't that big of a deal. Turning off the game doesn't really count against you and it does allow you to go into sleep mode. I also tried it out on a GO and when you save through the 'pause' screen it doesn't count that either.

In the first chapter alone there were some pretty funny nods to anime and pop culture icons. If you have played Disgaea games before you know what to expect in the graphics department. For some the look they use isn't overly appealing but it does make up for it in the writing and game play. The voice actors are great and none of them have the 'I wish I could just do subtitles' voice that quite a few games suffer from.

The only downside I can think about this game is that sometimes the music overpowers the voice acting and at times can be hard to hear without cranking up the volume on your PSP.

Overall if you're looking for a fast paced rouge type game this is the way to go. People who enjoyed the Disgaea series will be able to appreciate the humor in this game *there are prinnies!!!* It's a definite play for NIS fans

This game is a grind fest taken to the mainstream consumer. It doesn't matter what your skill level is, if you can gain one level each time into the dungeons, you can progress to a point where you can beat the main game levels. Its like Diablo except even if you die you gain something(total levels and thus a bonus to stats on each level up in dungeon). There aren't anywhere near as many items as a Diablo style game but there is other depth that makes that a moot point and there are still a LOT of items for each of five body parts and there is a greater synergy between them. The shadowgram is a work of art and takes a long time to fully unlock -- I've got 50+ hours in and have about 16 squares yet to unlock with a total level of about 1800. You can't fully max your character until the entire grid is open and thus far no one has fully detailed how the entire thing works; It is complicated and open to interpretation as well based on your play style. The details are outlined in another review on game mechanics.

The best part of this game is you can store all your hard earned items in storage and then go out and just bear into a dungeon with no regard for the outcome as you will achieve, at minimum, a plus to your total levels and at maximum a surprise victory. I love that. On the flip side you can collect all those things and then gear up and head in for some serious post game carnage only to have them stripped from you by getting one shotted into oblivion and thus back to level one minus your gear. The good news = after taking down a boss, it is replaced by a fodder character which you can obtain(steal) the same equipments from again.

I will address one thing. You can sleep your psp in dungeons. Just make sure you allow that nothing is loading to/from the card or disc when doing so. Basically don't do it at the beginning of a level, during a level change or while the music is still loading or reloading. Mine has never botched but the previous is the consensus thus far over various firmwares and models.

The game is great overall. You could casually play it for over a year and not finish it completely or you could go hardcore and still have to spend substantial time on it. The one character concept alleviates the need for alternately leveling others but it makes up for it by having you learn a fairly complicated system to power up your Ranger. If I had a child that loved to play games, this is one that stimulates the mind as well as the imagination while not insisting on any level of skill and yet rewarding the use of skill appropriately, something I do not notice mentioned very often. The content may not be totally pc but its not too bad compared to school bus talk at around 4th grade level. Let's be honest, sheltering your child is only going to hinder them, while introducing and tempering them against foul language and lewd topics(which they WILL encounter) will allow them to grow into adulthood and acknowledge these topics on their own with your guidance and with a foreknowledge of how to handle the events. This game only provides a couple of instances of overt adult language usage. The innuendo however... that is entirely a different topic ;)

So.... go buy it for whoever or whatever reason. I preordered directly from NIS with the "sticker" and seeing the difficulty others are having I'm glad I paid a tad more and I get to enjoy my sticker too!

P.S. Its a good game. Lots of endings, items, enemies, levels, challenges, situations, and unique boss battles. Enjoy!

I have been playing the import version since that hit the Japanese market. So I was stoked to see that Nippon Ichi/NIS would be delivering a localized version to our shores. And in the fine tradition that is Nippon Ichi/NIS America, they have done a great job! This game has lost nothing on it's trip over to the US, from the crazy name, the great humor and fast paced Action/Rpg game play, it is all there. NIS has also delivered on the English vocal track finding actors that deliver a fun over the top performance that fits with the crazy story. And if you like NIS gives you the option to play with the Japanese vocal track, which is always nice to see.

TO long time fans of Nippon Ichi's other series like Disgaea, Phantom Brave. Just know that this is not the same type of Strategic turn based RPG as those series. Z.H.P Unlosing Ranger vs. DarkDeath EvilMan is a faster paced Action/RPG with some of the best and craziest customization that has been in any game.

And any game that has gives your character a money loving, over shopping, Divorce threatening Prinny(from Disgaea)for a wife...you just have to laugh.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars